Columns

As a gardener, I’m very familiar with roots. As a writer, I’m very familiar with words. I thought I’d put the two together this week and look into the origins of some of the phrases we use or hear regularly. That’s a bit unusual for a gardening column and you may think me “mad as a hatter” for doing it.

Sweet potatoes are a favorite fall food. They are savory, sweet, nutritious and versatile too. Sweet potatoes are a Native American plant that was a main source of nourishment for early homesteaders and for soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
Sweet potatoes are excellent sources of vitamins A and C. One half cup of cooked sweet potato provides 90 calories, 3 grams of fiber and 380 percent of the daily value for Vitamin A.

College applications will be due soon for early decision/acceptance notification.
Thanksgiving was always the target deadline in my household. Family gatherings during the holidays are also times when the relatives ask high school seniors what they plan to do after graduation.
College isn’t the only answer for high school students. It may not be the best fit for some students and may be more expensive than justified for the student’s career path.

Daylight’s a burnin’. Yes, I know that’s grammatically incorrect, but it’s what my family has said for years.
My father, Jack, liked to say it to get us kids motivated. The saying is especially poignant this time of year. We just lost a whole hour. Well, not yet, but we’re headed in that direction.

Fall. You might think cooler weather and leaves falling. We at the clerk’s office are thinking candidate filings. Anyone wanting to run for a county office can file the forms with our office beginning Nov. 6 and ending on Jan. 28, 2014.
The races on the ballot next May include the offices of judge, county attorney, property valuation adminstrator, sheriff, county clerk, jailer, coroner, surveyor, magistrates and constables.

Are you ready to travel back in time? You don’t even have to pack a bag. You just have to remember to change all your clocks. At midnight, this Sunday, Daylight Savings Time officially ends. Soon, we’ll be driving home from work in the dark.
I’ll miss my evening walks with the dogs after work. I’ll miss hopping on the mower after work. I’ll miss weeding and harvesting in the garden after work. The only things I get to pick now are the stick tights covering my clothes.

Is there a difference between hamburger and ground beef? The answer is yes but it’s not a big difference.
Ground beef must be made of trimmings that contain the targeted fat percentage. For example, if a package is labeled 80 percent lean/20 percent fat ground beef, then the beef trimmings that the ground beef is made from must contain those percentages. On the other hand, hamburger may be made of beef fat added to the meat block to create the desired fat percentage.

Recent publicity about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet has led to misconceptions about gluten and its role in weight loss.
As a consequence, many individuals without gluten intolerance are following a gluten-free diet.

We are such creatures of habit. We know what we like and this time of year: chili.
Chili with meat or beans, or both. Chili with spaghetti or macaroni, or both. Chili with cheese or onions, or both. When it gets chilly outside, we make chili inside. Casseroles or Crock-Pot soups come next.

One of my most favorite things about the farm is the view that I have at sunset. The air has cooled to a pleasant degree and watching the sun send up its last horrah fills the sky with ribbons of color to rival any masterpiece.
The dogs love to run and romp in the yard, taking turns to come say hello and get a good scratching. It clears my mind of the day’s events and helps me appreciate all that I have.